Avenue Q

Original Broadway Cast

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Avenue Q Review

by William Ruhlmann

"Avenue Q has not been authorized or approved in any manner by the Jim Henson Company or Sesame Workshop, which have no responsibility for its content," reads a disclaimer found, among other places, inside the CD booklet for the original Broadway cast album of Avenue Q. It's an important statement to keep in mind, because, in essence, the show, with songs by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who are also credited with the "original concept," asks what would happen if you crossed the children's television series Sesame Street with the gritty, urban Broadway musical Rent. Or, to put it more plainly, suppose all the puppets on Sesame Street had potty mouths? What if, for example, Bert and Ernie (or, as they are called here, Rod and Nicky [John Tartaglia and Rick Lyon]) were closeted gays ("If You Were Gay")? What if Cookie Monster (sorry, Trekkie Monster [Rick Lyon again]) craved not baked goods, but pornography ("The Internet Is for Porn")? And what if Miss Piggy's name was, instead, Lucy the Slut (Stephanie D'Abruzzo)? It's fair to say that the viewer and listener's reaction to Avenue Q will depend on a visceral response to the "original concept" of a hard R-rated version of Sesame Street. Is it a clever idea, or does it make you want to exclaim, as Kate Monster (Stephanie D'Abruzzo again) does during the show, "Ewww!" and "That's gross!"? The question is complicated by context. Like another heavily satirical show of the early 21st century, Urinetown, Avenue Q began off-Broadway (on March 19, 2003). But then it transferred to Broadway (on July 31, 2003). In an earlier day, such shows might have stayed off-Broadway, where audiences in search of edgy work would seek them out in small theaters in Greenwich Village. Instead, they now come uptown, where it's easy to mistake them for mainstream fare, especially when they win Tony Awards, as Avenue Q did for its score and book as well as an upset victory in the Best Musical category. After those accolades, the show's producers unexpectedly announced that Avenue Q would bypass a national tour in favor of a permanent production in Las Vegas, a decision that may have upset regional theaters, but probably saves many American children from inadvertently hearing a bunch of earnest, friendly looking, familiarly fuzzy puppets proclaim, "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist." Avenue Q is for adult audiences.

Track Listing

Title/Composer Performer Time Stream
1 01:02 SpotifyAmazon
2 Jennifer Barnhart / Natalie Venetia Belcon / Stephanie D'Abruzzo / Jordan Gelber / Ann Harada / Rick Lyon / John Tartaglia 05:55 SpotifyAmazon
3 Rick Lyon / John Tartaglia 02:30 SpotifyAmazon
4 John Tartaglia 02:28 SpotifyAmazon
5 Natalie Venetia Belcon / Stephanie D'Abruzzo / Jordan Gelber / Ann Harada / John Tartaglia 05:27 SpotifyAmazon
6 Stephanie D'Abruzzo / Rick Lyon 02:59 SpotifyAmazon
7 Stephanie D'Abruzzo / John Tartaglia 03:35 SpotifyAmazon
8 Jordan Gelber / Ann Harada 00:28 SpotifyAmazon
9 Stephanie D'Abruzzo 02:36 SpotifyAmazon
10 Jennifer Barnhart / Natalie Venetia Belcon / Stephanie D'Abruzzo / Jordan Gelber / Ann Harada / Rick Lyon / John Tartaglia 02:41 SpotifyAmazon
11 Stephanie D'Abruzzo / Rick Lyon / John Tartaglia 04:18 SpotifyAmazon
12 John Tartaglia 01:18 SpotifyAmazon
13 Stephanie D'Abruzzo 02:39 SpotifyAmazon
14 Jordan Gelber / John Tartaglia 03:08 SpotifyAmazon
15 Stephanie D'Abruzzo / Ann Harada 02:23 SpotifyAmazon
16 Natalie Venetia Belcon / Rick Lyon 03:04 SpotifyAmazon
17 Stephanie D'Abruzzo / Rick Lyon 02:09 SpotifyAmazon
18 Jennifer Barnhart / Natalie Venetia Belcon / Jordan Gelber / Rick Lyon / John Tartaglia 05:01 SpotifyAmazon
19 Rick Lyon 01:59 SpotifyAmazon
20 Jennifer Barnhart / Natalie Venetia Belcon / Stephanie D'Abruzzo / Jordan Gelber / Ann Harada / Rick Lyon / John Tartaglia 01:43 SpotifyAmazon
21 Jennifer Barnhart / Natalie Venetia Belcon / Stephanie D'Abruzzo / Jordan Gelber / Ann Harada / Rick Lyon / John Tartaglia 03:12 SpotifyAmazon
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